Cemented With Age

"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope."

(Lam. 3:21)

After more than sixty-plus years of studying God’s Word and observing people, I have added to my short list of core convictions two more, and set them in cement. I have always strongly believed in both, but not to the almost radical extent I do now. I’m referring to my belief in God’s absolute sovereignty over man and matter, and the total depravity of man in every area of his being.

As to the former, in the above mentioned, the certainty that an omnipotent God is in control of this insane world today, is the only thing that’s allowed me to keep my sanity. A world where the inmates are now running the institution and the sane people are considered the “crazies.” It is wonderful to know at such a time, as Daniel of old said, “There is a God in Heaven.” And when things have run their course according to His plan, He will step in! And when He puts His foot down, I guarantee all will know it.

Concerning my second persuasion, as Isaiah says in the first chapter of his book, man is tainted with sin from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. No part is left untouched; he is depraved in all aspects. Left to himself, free to act and think as he pleases, he will invariably choose his own interests above God’s. Total depravity entails total inability. That is, he has lost all ability to understand or accomplish anything truly Spiritual. Cornelius Van Till put it something like this; "It’s not that an unregenerate man is not sharp; he can saw as good, if not better, than a Christian. The problem is, his saw is crooked, never allowing him to saw a straight line."

“Two things are needed to humble us. First, let us consider God in His greatness, glory, holiness, power, majesty, and authority. Then let us consider ourselves in our mean, abject, and sinful condition—especially in our enmity against God, which still remains in our hearts.” 

(John Owen, Puritan)

By An Old Disciple

TO MARK OR NOT TO MARK?

"For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?" 

Jer. 23:18

After C. I. Scofield, the author of the notes in the Scofield Bible, was converted, he visited a Christian business friend. On the man's desk lay a Bible with many marks in it. The novice said at the time, not knowing any better, he thought that was almost blasphemous. There are still some of that opinion. 

The Bible I used the last forty-plus years of my ministry, which my son Andrew now has, is full of highlights and notes. My youngest daughter Charity once commented, after leafing through it, "Dad, this looks like a coloring book." I just wish my life was marked with as many truths as found in its margins.

There was an evangelist years ago referred to as, "The

Walking Bible." That's our need today! Paul told the Corinthian Christians, "Ye are our epistle...known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ...written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God..."

I have a saying I came up with some years ago, "The need of the hour is for large print Christians." Some boast in how many times they've gone through the Bible. I like Warren Wiersbe's comment on such a statement, "It's not how many times you've been through the Bible but how many times it’s gone through you!"

Years ago I had an old evangelist, Dr. John R. Rice, for a conference. After the morning service, waiting in his motel room, while he freshened up for lunch, I thumbed through his Bible. I mentioned him having no notes in it. He answered in that quaint little way he had, "No need to, if you're in it all the time.

By An Old Disciple

THE RIGHTS OF OUR HUSBANDMAN

"The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits ... my Father is the husbandman..."

(2 Tim. 2:6; Jn. 15:1)

The word husbandman, we are told, means Master of the House. It was the Bible's oldest occupation. One has commented that it seems most if not all in Israel, unless performing ministerial duties, were connected with husbandry in one form or another. They were specialists as another puts it in this type of farm work. 

Husbandry carries with it the thought of hard work, monotony. Unlike a soldier or athlete, there was no glamor, excitement, or applause attached to it. It was long, hard work, requiring much patience; so says James. 

This is a description of our wonderful God, says the Lord Jesus! And because of this, as any and all husbandmen, He has the right to be first partaker of our lives. 

O, how I desire for His taste of my life to be fresh and sweet to His heavenly palate! A SWEET SACRIFICE.

Take my life, and let it be

Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;

Take my moments and my days,

Let them flow in ceaseless praise,

Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

By An Old Disciple

JOSEPH'S PAST — AND OURS

"And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction."

(Gen. 41:51)

As a novice preacher I heard Billy Graham make the statement that most patients in mental institutions are there because of something in their past that they can't forget. I find this true in dealing with God's people today. Most live defeated lives because they drag around the ball and chain of past unpleasantries, thus never making any progress in their Christian lives. It slows them down to almost a halt.

God, Joseph tells us, made him to forget all the hurts and abuses he had suffered as a teenager and early manhood: the envy and hatred of his brethren, the horrible pit experience, being sold as a slave, wrongly imprisoned for thirteen years, losing everything he held near and dear to him. As it says in Job, "… thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away." 

Joseph didn't forget the past as a fact, but in its dominating the present. The very fact he mentions it shows it was in his mental file cabinet. But he had tagged it, "Closed." As I often tell people, "He had buried his past and threw away the shovel." He didn't dig it up daily; he couldn't, he had thrown away the means of resurrecting his past! 

And how did God accomplish Joseph's forgetting all the indignities of the years past? By a fruitful life in the present. When he put the past and present in life's scale the present blessings far outweighed the past's horridness. He saw his affliction of the past brought great fruitfulness in the present. As we're told in Exodus, "But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew."

"Victory or defeat is determined by where we choose to camp mentally, in the pain of the  past or pleasantries present."

(rds)

By An Old Disciple

Everlasting Peace

“Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them.” 

(Ezk.37:26)

Paul tells us in Ephesians, chapter two, verses eleven through fifteen that this promise to Israel in the Old Testament is now in full force to us Gentile believers under the New Covenant. It is absolutely endless; it is forevermore, never to be altered or abolished. It is a peace now and forever.

This is the peace Jesus left to His followers before returning home to His Father. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.”  Matthew Henry, commenting on this text says, “When Christ was about to leave the world he made his will. His soul he committed to his Father; his body he bequeathed to Joseph, to be decently interred; his clothes fell to the soldiers; his mother he left to the care of John: but what should he leave to his poor disciples that had left all for him? Silver and gold had he  none; but he left them that which was infinitely better, his peace. ‘I leave you, but I leave my peace with you. I not only give you a title to it, but put you in possession of it.’”

This peace is not the absence of storms, but in the midst of them. O, beloved, while all around the angry waves toss us, and the dark billowy clouds hide His blessed face, let us peacefully pillow our heads on His promise, “Let us pass over unto the other side…and they came over unto the other side.” 

By An Old Disciple 

UNDER OUR ROOFS

“Thou mighty man of valor...thou shalt save Israel from the Midianites.” 

This statement was made by the angel of the Lord whose family was poor dirt farmers. And to make things even worse, the man was considered the least in his house. But God delights to do His greatest works with the least means.

God’s champion was threshing wheat. Who would have believed the innumerable army of the Midianites’ greatest antagonist would come from a farmhouse? As someone has said, “Genius hatches her offspring in strange places.” Humble homes can be the birthplace of mighty emancipators (Micah 5:2).

How many great leaders, minds, deliverers, and talents, are now living under the roof of a humble dwelling?

(rds)

By An Old Disciple

A FATHER TO HIS SPIRITUAL CHILDREN

"Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe: As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." 1 Thess.2:10-13 Coming from what one would describe today as a dysfunctional home (though we thought it normal) as well as the sinful life I came out of, I have never thought of myself as a good Christian father. Although I can honestly say I did the very best I could, considering I never had an example in my upbringing.  My dear mother used to say, "Don't send me flowers when I'm dead,” meaning if you're going to show any appreciation, do it while she was yet alive. This little quip came to my mind last week when waking from my daily nap time in my wife's plush La-Z-Boy recliner.  It was pretty scary at the time, especially being alone. I woke with my tongue completely numb as well as my right arm. I laid still awhile, thinking that was it. But after a short time, it passed and I've had no more problems since. But at almost 87, with a previous heart attack, something is going to happen sooner or later. Because of this experience, I want to throw my readers some flowers of appreciation, so to speak. I don't want someone else telling you how much I loved you; I want to do it personally!  Humanly, I don't know how I could have made it these last 19 plus years without The Journal and you readers; you have kept the Old Disciple going by your prayers, encouragement, and support. I look back on over a 62-year ministry in which I have donned a few different hats: evangelist, pastor, missionary, teacher, etc. I have now come to see that more than anything else I have been an exhorter, Rom. 12:6-8. My lifetime text has been, "And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only," Matt.17:8; And my philosophy, "If I can get a person to Jesus, everything will be alright." As your spiritual father, I close with the old saint’s words, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth," 3 Jn. 1:4. From a Heart Full of Love for Each of You, Brother Sandlin For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God; Night and day praying exceedingly that we...might perfect that which is lacking in your faith?  1 Thess. 3:9-10 By An Old Disciple

Regrets

"...lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow."

(2 Cor. 2:7)

Anyone the least familiar with the life of Paul knows he had regrets concerning his past. Hauling both men and women off to filthy prisons, to be tortured, depriving their little ones of a mother and father; persecuting the “Little Flock,” for whom their Good Shepherd had shed His life’s blood; approving the stoning death of the first Christian martyr, Steven, with his angelic countenance branded into Paul’s conscience, never to be forgotten; and worse of all, the memory of his insane hatred for the One he now loved, served, adored, and worshiped.

But this stalwart Christian was not crippled by vain regrets. In other words, he did not let his past paralyze him. He was not a member of the morose club who are incessantly whining, “If I had only…” He knew he couldn’t recall the past. He knew he couldn’t gather up spilt milk, so he poured himself a fresh glass. He didn’t waste time praying about the past but got up and started doing something in the present. He did not worry about what he could not affect or change in the past. In Paul’s mind, it was wrong to mortgage the present with the past. He followed his Lord’s instructions, when He said, “Let the dead bury the dead.”

Satchel Paige, that great relief pitcher for the Cleveland Indians in the 40’s, had some great home-spun philosophies, one of which was, “Don’t look back; dey might be gainin’ on ya.” Paul would have said, “Amen” to that statement, for the Apostle had written over two thousand years ago, “Forgetting those which are behind.”

"God can give us a crop in one year that makes up for ten." 

(Joel 2:25) 

M.L. Jones.

By An Old Disciple

THE SLAUGHTERED LAMB

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth...The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth.”

(Isa. 53:7; Acts 8:32:32)

Isaiah writes about a lamb being slaughtered. Philip interprets it in the New Testament, when witnessing to the Ethiopian eunuch, telling him it was Jesus of whom the prophet wrote. 

The word “slaughter” connects it to such meanings as: to butcher in a violent and bloody manner; it is also associated with massacre, brutal, savage. It is not a pretty sight to behold.

I had a barber once tell me I had a slaughterhouse religion. From the look on his face it seemed he wanted me to be impressed with his original definition. But he was way behind time. A liberal theologian by the name of Harry Emerson Fosdick first coined the phrase in 1922, adding that it was a, “precivillized barbarity.” He too was a little behind the times, well over 2,000 years. The Bible is always ahead of us!

From Abel’s sacrificial lamb until Christ’s (the Lamb of God) death, literally thousands of animals were slain. If all were put together, we would have a river of blood. 

So you see, I have no problem with the accusations of either the barber or Fosdick; for I belong to, and am thankful for, a “slaughterhouse religion,” as the scripture refers to It. It will save to the uttermost all who believe and damn just as many as reject it!  For they stand with the crowd who slaughtered Him.

“Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood...And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy...for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation...And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

(Rev. 1:5; 5:9)

By An Old Disciple

Amateur Providences

"Be it far from thee…this shall not be unto thee.” 

 Matt. 16:22

The title of this article is what Oswald Chambers tags those who meddle in God’s dealings with their loved ones. We make ourselves a man-made shell in their lives to protect them from Divine discomforts. We prevent God from doing His best work in their lives, thereby causing havoc instead of help. Good intentions or not, we, like Peter, become amateur providences when we say, concerning those closest to us, “Be it far from thee…this shall not be unto thee.” To which our Lord answers us, as He did His disciple, “Thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” His will for his darling Son was to suffer, and it may be the same for your darling.

Chambers writes in another place, “You may see Jesus Christ wreck a life before He rebuilds it.” When will we learn, God’s method is always to, “Root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” God goes to the foundation when He begins to build a life again; He doesn’t do patch-work, “He makes all things new.” Allow those dear to you to learn the great truth many of us have: At the end of self is God!

RUSTY SWORDS

"For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword..."

(Heb. 4:12)

A sword is meant to be used, not displayed in some museum for inquizitive gawkers to gaze upon. I think we of the K.J.V camp are the worst of the crowd. Many present God's Sword as a novelty, not a deadly weapon! "... cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood,” Jer. 48:10. In the listing the sevenfold pieces of armour in Ephesians 6, the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, is the only offensive weapon.

I think far too many saints have laid aside their Swords, and allowing them to rust. Like Goliath's sword, they wrapped it in a cloth and put it back in a tent. Theirs is on a shelf, gathering dust. Such swords are threats to no one, especially to the devil! Jesus defeated Satan by giving him three deep slices from the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God! I'm of the opinion he still carries the scars. Our example knew how to unsheathe His Sword; He didn't leave it in its scabbard.

When David commended Jonathan and Saul at their death he said, "...the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty,  2 Sam. 1:22. I like what it says about one of David's three mighty men, "And after him was Eleazar ... one of the three mighty men with David ... He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day..." 2 Sam. 23:9-10.

But not only are we to use our swords against the enemy, but ourselves. In the scripture Agag (an Amalekite) is a type of the flesh, and we are told Samuel took his sword and hewed him in pieces, 1 Sam. 15:33. Paul tells us we should, "...through the Spirit... mortify (cause to die) the deeds of the body..." Rom. 8:13

As Martin Luther penned, "One little Word will fell him (Satan)."

By An Old Disciple

THE GOD OF________

" I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. "

(Acts 7:32)

This is the last of the thirty exact matches of this text found in the Bible. The order never changes; it is always this sequence. As I was meditating on this verse today I asked myself, "Does God say, "I am the God of Richard Sandlin?" How about you?

There is a sad text in the Holy Scriptures that tells us that God will say to many, on that great and final day, "I never knew you." But by the same token there are those we are told, "...wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God." These three God was not ashamed to own, as His own! It is written that many who are ashamed of Him now He will be ashamed of them then. "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels."

I have come to believe there is a spiritual significance in the order of this trio of men. Let me list my reasons. The one trait that stood out in each life, that characterized them and how I think it applies to us New Testament saints.

ABRAHAM- A life of faith. From first to last and all in between, his was a walk of faith. And Paul tells us we are to follow him. "... walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham."

ISAAC- Surrendering to his father’s will. He was not a child at the time of his father offering him up, but a man, possibly in his 30's. He could have resisted his father’s will. But as the greater said, "Father ... not what I will, but as thou wilt." 

Jacob- Perseverance! Not preservation, but perseverance. The former has to do with God's side, the latter, ours. Say what you will about Jacob, but he wouldn't give up or give in. He kept on till the end! Interestingly the word "continue," is often associated with the saints in the New Testament.

"Now abideth faith, surrender, and perseverance, these three; but the greatest of these is- ALL THREE!

(rds)

By An Old Disciple

His Commandments are His Enablements

"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."

(1 Jn. 5:3)

We are told God spoke to Ezekiel saying, “Stand upon thy feet.” Then the prophet records for us these words, “And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet.” Here we find God’s Commandments are His Enablements.

This, no doubt, is what Paul was attempting to get across when he penned, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” He understood if God willed it, then he could do it (Phil.2:13). God taught this truth from the beginning. In Genesis we find, “God planted,” but it was Adam who was to, “Dress and keep it.”

A dear handicapped preacher friend of mine used to say, “Can’t, is not in the handicapped dictionary”; neither should it be a part of a Christian’s vocabulary, when in reference to one of God’s Commands to him or her. If God commands us to jump, our reply should be, “How high?” When David was told by his Lord to do so, he said, “By my God have I leaped over a wall.”

"Give, O Lord, what Thou commandest, and then command what Thou wilt."

(St. Augustine)

By An Old Disciple

LORD OF THE DAY AND NIGHT!

"The day is thine, the night also is thine."

HE IS LORD! — Day or night, around the clock. He is Lord of the day, sunny or cloudy, and also of the night, moonlit or dark as pitch. He made them both; therefore He owns them both. Those who live in misery saying, " In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning!" are strangers to Lordship.

That small remnant who have submitted to the Lordship of our Sovereign God say at the dawning of each day, "This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." And when night falls, "I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety." There is no time in which our God is not in control.

Is it any wonder then that God's darling David said, "My times are in thy hands.” Not sometimes but at all times. His God was his conscious and continual companion, no matter where the hands on the clock pointed. Had David lived in our generation I believe he would have had the song upon his lips, "And He walks with me, and talks with me, and tells me I am His own." 

By An Old Disciple

THE MOTLEY MOB

"And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath...And the whole city was filled with confusion...

Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused;

and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together."

(Acts 19:28,29,32)

The Bible is as relevant in this present day as it was in past days. For example, a mob: they may differ in geography, time, and culture; but basically to have seen the one is to have seen them all. The characteristic principles remain the same no matter what the dress, language, or pseudo cause may be. 

Benjamin Franklin said, "A mob is a monster with heads enough, but no brains." Dunces are easily led by manipulative leaders. Thinkers are rarely tricked by such! Then, as well as today, the mass of this crowd didn't even know why they had come together. They knew not by whom or why the riot began.

Some Bible teachers tell us this crowd of  misfits grew in number to 25,000. Like a snowball, each go-around added to it. The whole city was left in an uproar. These mindless adolescents were drawn by hearsay, emotions, noise, excitement, passions, and their own fancies; but few, if any, by calm, sensible, intelligent, reasoning.

Max Lerner wrote in The Unfinished Country , "Every mob, in its ignorance and blindness and bewilderment, is a League of Frightened Men that seek reassurance in collective action."

"The mob who cried, 'Crucify Him,' got what they wanted, but lost what they had!"

(rds)